Illinois harness dates reduced to 63 cards in 2021

Anticipating that there will be no recurrence of this year’s 2 ½-month COVID-19 interruption and that construction progress will continue on the racino project, the Illinois Racing Board on Wednesday awarded Hawthorne Race Course 2021 harness and thoroughbred dates that mirror those the track raced from 2016 through 2019. The 63-night harness meeting will be held from May 7-Sept. 26 and will be sandwiched between March 6-April 25 and Oct. 1-Dec. 31 thoroughbred meetings with a total of 50 programs.